Inside the Braves with MLB.com's Mark Bowman

A Nats win on Sunday would not be all bad

After spending the past six months competing against the Nationals for a division title, the Braves could actually benefit from the Nationals wrapping up the National League East with a win over the Cardinals on Sunday.

With the Nationals’ magic number at one and four games to play, the Braves’ hopes of winning the division are almost dead. They can still certainly hope to win their four remaining games as the Nationals’ lose their last four. This would set up a one-game playoff on Thursday to determine which team enters the postseason as the division champ. The loser would be the top Wild Card entrant.

So it’s fine if you want to hold out hope for a division title. But all will not be bad today if the Cardinals lose to the Nationals and the Dodgers beat the Rockies. This would bring the Dodgers within one-game of the Cardinals in the Wild Card race and improve the odds that these two teams would need to meet in a one-game playoff in Los Angeles on Thursday to determine which gets to travel to Atlanta for a one-game playoff.

The one-game playoff to determine which Wild Card entrant advances to the Division Series is currently scheduled for Friday in Atlanta. By as ESPN’s Jayson Stark tweeted earlier this morning, there is a chance that game would be moved to Saturday if the Cardinals and Dodgers are forced to play on Thursday.

So you can see why there is reason to reserve today as the only day this year where you will not necessarily be upset to see the Nationals win.

Off the top of my head: It has been cool to see the rousing ovations Chipper Jones has received before each of his plate appearances this weekend. As he prepares to play his final regular season game in Atlanta this afternoon, it seems safe to say that he has been genuinely overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of love and support the fans have shown him this year.

When Jones was forced to get a Twitter account because an individual was posing as him in late July, I predicted his account would be utilized as frequently as Tommy Hanson’s. After a day or two of seeing him Tweet stuff like Yicketty and Mammo, I laughed and told him that I was glad I had not put my money where my mouth was about his Twitter activity.

Two months later, Jones is still entertaining and being entertained via the social media world. He has been genuinely appreciative of the chance to interact with fans and read about the sacrifices that they have made to see him play at least one more time.

When Jones played his first home game as Atlanta’s starting third baseman in 1995, Greg Maddux was on the mound. As he plays his last regular season game in front of the home crowd today, Kris Medlen will be on the mound.

From Mad Dod to Med Dog, it has been an incredible journey.

If the Braves win today, it will mark their 23rd consecutive victory in a game started by Medlen. No other Major League team has ever won this many consecutive games started by one pitcher.

Check out the talented and hilarious Ricky Mast’s latest video below to “learn how to Huddy” and enjoy a few pregame laughs:

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